Home Brothers

Johnathon and Graham go WAY back.  I first met their family when I was pregnant with Graham and Johnathon was a new baby!

Johnathon, Oliver, Graham + Aiden at Trunk or Treat

Johnathon celebrated his 10th birthday last week and Graham will be 9 next month.  Though completely different in personality, these boys are so awesome together.  Jill and I laugh that it's like watching two little old men interact, and it's been this way since they were little!  They almost anticipate each other's next idea or thought because they know each other so well.  Now they call each other "home brother" and love talking about how they will design their bachelor mansion with a bowling alley, giant pools, movie theaters.  Their plan is to play all day long in their bachelor pad leaving no time for anything else.  Like a job. :)  So funny.  Today, I snapped a pic of Graham's birthday sentiments for his home brother:

A few from the point 'n shoot + baby update

Crazy boy snagged my camera. That's his fierce face.  I think we are at Panera?  

Dan and I with Krista from International Justice Mission.  She is going to be the field director for IJM's Cambodian office.  A TRUE hero in my eyes!

 Millie Grace singing her heart out...probably "Wheels on the Bus" or "Jingle Bells".  Gosh that girl makes my heart melt.

 And now hand motions.  :)

 And this one's from today.  The kids got candy canes at Community Bible Study today and Millie LOVED hers, except she did not love the sticky film left on her hands after she practically inhaled the thing.

Baby chose NOT to let us sneak a peek at the 16 week ultrasound....so content to be snuggled up in the fetal position with feet strategically placed.  :)  Funny enough, we had planned a gender reveal party with grandparents, aunts + uncles and cousins that night.  We've got another appt. scheduled for the 17th...hoping to find out this time!  More importantly than gender, baby looks very healthy, and I'm so thankful.

As of this week, I am 18 weeks along.  Here's a little picture of what baby might look like:

Boy or Girl?

Dear baby,

Today is the day!  We will find out if you are a boy or a girl.  I think you are a girl...but maybe it's because those are my most recent memories from our last two babies?  Daddy is sure you are a boy.  Graham has pleaded with you since you were 4 weeks old "PULEEEZE grow a p*nis!!!  Bubby will be SO happy if you are a brother!"  Ha ha.  Hannah Reece has waffled between boy or girl and I think she'll be happy with either one.  She's excited to share diaper duty with me this time.  :)  Camille is SURE you are a girl.  Every time we are at Target, she veers off to the baby section to look at all things pink for her "baby sistah".  Whatever gender you are....we are thankful!  You are a reward and a blessing from God!

I can't wait to see your precious growing body wiggling all around at today's ultrasound.  I am up super early (5:30) thinking about you.  Mornings and nights are the times I think about you the most.  These are quiet(er) times in the house and my mind and heart are still amazed that God has given us you.  You are our fourth child and I think it's so cool that as soon as you come into the world FIVE people will be ready to overwhelm you with love and care.  Not to mention all of your Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who love you, too!  When we are together or at church, your nine-year-old cousin Logan embraces me with the sweetest (and gentlest) hug and says "I can't WAIT to see our baby!!!"  And then he reminds me exactly how many days until we find out if you are a boy or a girl.  So precious.

I've felt your "flutters" of movement several times in the last week or so.  Tonight though,  I felt a quick "bump".  I knew it was you.  I love you little one!  You already make momma smile.  xoxoxo

This is what you look like  today, at 16 weeks..

Thanksgiving All Year Long

This week's Bible verse at Oedy Academy:

"Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect."  Ephesians 5:4 (the message)

May thanksgiving be our primary language all the time!   I'm pretty sure my little accountability partners will now "encourage" me and each other when it's not.

fall wall + today

Oh, how I love these people I live with!  I am so thankful that they put up with my tired, moody, hungry-for-the-most-random-stuff-and-need-it-right-now pregnant self.   Look at these girls.  I'm trying to teach modesty here, but mercy, they are so blissfully happy when I let them jump on the trampoline topless.  :)  Sweet sisters.  They are starting to play together more.  Playing is not straight-forward as it is for boys, that is for sure.  Boys play, disagree, walk-away, and move on.  I'm encouraging the use of words, compromise and lots and lots of patience with these precious daughters. I love to see them play together!

This is one awesome man.  He cooks, he cleans, he takes all three kids on multiple errands and he grooms the dog.   He AMAZES me-I adore you Dan. 

Reecie and I did a little rearranging on our picture wall.  I took the mason candle jars down from the hooks on the second shelf and tied a little jute to the end hooks.  Added some clothes pins and we chose some current and past seasonal artwork from my little Picasso's and voila!  It feels like fall now.  :)  I love pulling out the kids old artwork and using them as decor on this wall with each season.  The second one from the right is something Graham made in Kindergarten, it says:  " I go to pupkin  I luv pupkins."  That was after we went to the most awesome pumpkin patch while living in Charlotte.  

Reecie surprised  G + C this afternoon with a scavenger hunt.  She asked me to get the Easter baskets down and made a "list" of items:  pumpkin, clothespin, little ball and a string.  She is so creative!  Graham found two of the items and Reecie "found" the rest.  ;)

a little "catch-up"

So much to share!  I have still been down with all-day sickness, even now at almost thirteen weeks, I have several hours of the day (mostly late afternoon) where I just feel like I could get sick at any moment, although I never actually do.  BUT-even then, with three children, life must go ON.  I am so grateful for friends, family and Dan-my-man to pick up the slack.  Mom took the kids to Classical Conversations for two weeks in a row when I was at my worst, and last week Millie had Strep and the rest had some sort of upper respiratory virus. Even though the rest of our crew was down and feeling yuck, last weekend I had more energy and less nausea than I have had in months.  So what did I do with that energy?  Why, clean out everyone's closets of course!  It felt so good to purge and sort.  Although, I only organize for necessity these days (instead of as a hobby)  :)   it is such great therapy!  Truly, I slept better that night after organized closets than I have in MONTHS.

Anyway, this will be a week of catch-up posts.  My goal is to start posting at least 3-4 days each week, now that I can look at the computer screen for more than five minutes at a time.  So here we go!  

Dan was scheduled to take a vacation week from work this week and we had a fun road trip planned to Atlanta, Georgia.  As I mentioned before, sickness invaded our house for about two weeks straight, so we decided to nix the trip.  SO grateful we did, it would have been the longest drive ever with 3 hacking people in the car!  Poor things.  I called mom last Sunday and learned that their beach house was renter-free this week.  On Thursday morning, we packed up the truck and made the 40 minute drive to the beach. The beach with kids is no small affair.  Because it's a beach HOUSE we pack food, paper goods, clothing, beach toys, books, technology, and the kitchen sink.  Just kidding.  :)  Sort of.  It's a lot of work get packed up, but we were so glad we did!

Times Square waiting to meet the Goeder's who are were in town for vacation

she's sweet on her big bubba  :)

at Nana and Papa's

Reecie says the rule is to "take one, leave one!"

de-sanding our feet before we go inside

on the trolley to breakfast

"Where's Millie?"

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everyone got some souvenir loot:  Graham-turtle necklace, Reecie-dolphin, Millie-manatee and a pinwheel (best $2 we've ever spent!!)

G and Daddy dug  a hot tub-complete with stairs!  

one thing the kids love best about the beach house?  Cable TV!  Disney channel all day long...

taking in another beautiful sunrise with the best man i know!

snuggles at sunrise with our earliest riser

I want to remember....

...the way Graham climbed into our bed with a sick, feverish Hannah Reece.  I walked in to find him tickling her back and singing "You Are My Sunshine".  A beautiful and rare sight in a season of mild but frequent sibling rivslry.  

...waking up this morning to Camille sleeping deeply on the love seat face down, head pushed up into the corner, feet dangling off the edge.  Next to her?  A pile of nerf assault rifles.  That stuff they say about the adaptability of third borns?  All true.  :)  

...the way Camille tells friends and family "my momma's havin' anodah baby."  With the sweetest little smile and quiet, monotone voice.  

...how good it felt to bag up 4 bags of clothes from my closet last night.  I slept so well!  I did save  one rubbermaid bin of clothes for post-pregnancy.  I had been hanging on to clothes that I didn't even care for, plus my body has changed so much after three pregnancies and thirty-five years of living (what is it about thirty-five?)  I refuse to feel pressure after this baby is born from unworn clothes in the closet!  Thankful for a body that can carry babies and another year of life, even with it's sluggish metabolism.  Thank you for rewarding us with children, Lord!

...that I am SO happy to have my love home for a whole week!  We have a little trip planned to Atlanta toward the end of the week to visit the GA. aquarium and Stone mtn.  but even if we are unable to go with the strep and cold currently making rounds in our home....it's all good.  I love seeing sweet hubs' face all day long. 

...that I think this all-day sickness is winding down!  I will be TWELVE weeks pregnant tomorrow and glory hallelujah, I'm happy to say that I can usually make it through the day without intense nausea and headache for the last few days.  The only time I feel it intensely is if I take a long afternoon nap-then the rest of the afternoon I feel like junk.